Generating content fragments for content distribution

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various examples for serving certain portions of a content file from a server and accessing other portions of the content file from a local storage on a client device. A content proxy can extract a manifest file from a content package, and determine that a content file is associated with the manifest file. Content fragments associated with the content file can be identified and stored in client device storage. Content fragments that are not stored on the client device can be requested from the server. The content proxy can provide a URL that references the content file through which the content file can be served.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,co-pending U.S. Patent Application entitled “Generating ContentFragments for Content Distribution,” filed on Sep. 23, 2015, andassigned application Ser. No. 14/862,177, which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Users of client devices in an enterprise environment can have storageaccounts whereby files or other content can be stored and synchronizedbetween a client device and a remote storage area, such as on one ormore servers that are accessible over a network connection. In somescenarios, a user may store files, such as audio or video files, thatconsume a large amount of storage space. For various reasons, the usermay not wish to download the entirety of files in his or her storageaccount to the user's devices. For example, the user may have numerousvideo files stored in his or her storage account in the remote storagearea but may not wish to also store all of the video files on asmartphone, tablet, or other device that is synchronized with the remotestorage area. Moreover, a user may only be interested in a portion of afile, such as a particular segment of a video, but traditionally woulddownload the entire video and find the relevant portion.

Previous solutions to this problem have allowed a user to specifycertain folders or directories from a remote storage area that he or shedoes not want to synchronize between a remote storage area and theuser's device. However, files that are not stored on the user's devicemust then be retrieved or streamed from the remote storage area in theirentireties.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed uponclearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a drawing of an example networked environment.

FIG. 2 depicts an example manifest file.

FIGS. 3-4 depict example flowcharts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples of this disclosure provide the user with additional controlover which files or portions of files in a remote storage area arestored on a device of the user. In one example, a content file, such asa video file, can be broken up into content fragments that are stored onthe user's device. The user's device can execute a viewer applicationthat can render content fragments generated from a content file that arestored on the user's device and request portions of the content filefrom the remote storage area to provide the user with a seamless viewingor listening experience. In other words, the viewer application canrender a content file so that from a user's point of view, the entirecontent file appears to be stored on the user's device. However, theviewer application is actually streaming certain portions of the contentfile from the remote storage area and accessing other portions of thecontent file that are locally stored.

With reference to FIG. 1, shown is a networked environment 100 accordingto various examples. The networked environment 100 includes a clientdevice 106 and a computing environment 109, which can be in datacommunication with one another over the network 110. The network 110includes, for example, the Internet, one or more intranets, extranets,wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wired networks,wireless networks, other suitable networks, or any combination of two ormore such networks. For example, the networks can include satellitenetworks, cable networks, Ethernet networks, and other types ofnetworks.

The computing environment 109 can include, for example, a servercomputer. Alternatively, the computing environment 109 can employmultiple computing devices that can be arranged, for example, in one ormore server banks or computing clusters. The computing devices can belocated in a single installation or can be distributed among manydifferent geographical locations. For example, the computing environment109 can include multiple computing devices that together form a hostedcomputing resource, a grid computing resource, or any other distributedcomputing arrangement. In some cases, the computing environment 109 canoperate as at least a portion of an elastic computing resource where theallotted capacity of processing, network, storage, or othercomputing-related resources can vary over time. The computingenvironment 109 can also include or be operated as one or morevirtualized computer instances. Generally, the computing environment 109can be operated in accordance with particular security protocols suchthat they are considered trusted computing environments. The data storedin the data store 121 is associated with the operation of the variouscomponents described below.

The computing environment 109 can execute a management service 112, acontent access application 114, or other systems. The management service112 can manage or oversee the operation of multiple client devices 106.In some examples, an enterprise, such as one or more companies or otherorganizations, can operate the management service 112 to oversee ormanage the operation of the client devices 106 of employees,contractors, or other users within an enterprise environment. In thissense, the client devices 106 are managed devices that are managed bythe management service 112.

The management service 112 can ensure that client devices 106 that aremanaged by the management service 112 operate in compliance withcompliance rules. In one scenario, the management service 112 can issuemanagement commands that instruct a client device 106 to take aparticular action with respect to a compliance rule. For example, if aclient device 106 is designated as lost or stolen, the managementservice 112 can issue a command instructing the client device 106 toerase data and applications stored on the client device 106. If themanagement service 112 determines that a client device 106 has violateda compliance rule with respect to having unauthorized modifications orunauthorized applications installed on the client device 106, themanagement service 112 can issue a command instructing the client device106 to erase data and applications stored on the client device 106. Asanother example, the management service 112 can also issue a commandinstructing the client device 106 to activate a display lock of theclient device 106 that requires a user to enter a personalidentification number (PIN) in order to use the client device 106. Theclient device 106 can also store compliance rules locally and enforcecompliance rules using a process that is installed on the client device106.

The content access application 114 can facilitate synchronization offiles between one or more data stores 121 and a client device 106 of auser. The content access application 114 can provide access to a remotestorage area in which a user can store files and access the stored filesfrom another device, such as a client device 106. The content accessapplication 114 can also generate one or more user interfaces throughwhich a user can access a storage account of the user that is associatedwith the remote storage area. For example, the user interfaces can berendered by a browser and allow the user to view, create, edit, store,delete, or perform other operations with respect to files that arestored in one or more data stores 121. A remote storage area can alsoinclude other storage locations that are external to the computingenvironment 109 and accessed by a client device 106.

The content access application 114 can also authenticate a user or aclient device 106 to access files and other resources that are housed inthe data store 121. The content access application 114 can generatecontent file packages that correspond to content files stored in thedata store 121 in the remote storage area of a user. As will bedescribed in further detail below, a content file package can includecontent fragments as well as a manifest file that instructs a contentproxy server executed by a client device 106 how to interpret thecontents of the content file package. The content file package can alsobe a compressed file archive so that it consumes less storage space thanthe content file to which it corresponds.

The data stored in the data store 121 includes, for example, user data123 and potentially other data. User data 123 can include, for example,email, contacts, calendar data, or other data that is associated with auser account that is not depicted in FIG. 1. A user account can beassociated with multiple client devices 106. Different client devices106 associated with a user account can have different user data 123stored thereon.

Device data 127 can represent data stored in the data store 121 that isassociated with client devices 106 that are enrolled with the managementservice 112 as managed devices. Device data 127 can include a uniquedevice identifier associated with the client device 106, device policiesthat are associated with a particular client device 106, statusinformation associated with a particular client device 106, and otherdata that facilitates management of the client device 106 by themanagement service 112.

Content data 129 represents data regarding files that are stored in auser's storage account or remote storage area of the user. Access tofiles in a user's remote storage area is facilitated by the managementservice 112 and content access application 114. For example, a user'saccess to his or her remote storage area can be authenticated by themanagement service 112 or content access application 114 based uponauthentication credentials provided by a user as well as whether adevice from which the user is accessing the remote storage area complieswith compliance rules. Content data 129 includes content files 130,which can be files stored in the user's remote storage area. Contentfiles 130 can include documents, audio files, video files, or any othertype of file that can be associated with a user's remote storage area.Content files 130 can represent full copies of a file stored in theuser's remote storage area or a symbolic link to a copy of the file thatis stored in a file repository that is not specifically associated witha particular user. For example, a user can store a file in his or herremote storage area, and the content access application 114 can storethe file in a file repository. The content access application 114 canestablish a canonical copy of the file in an area of the data store 121that is not specific to a particular user. The content accessapplication 114 can then establish a symbolic link to the file in theuser data 123 of the various users to whom access to the file isgranted.

Content data 129, according to examples of the disclosure, furtherincludes content fragments 131 that are associated with a particularcontent file 130. The content fragments 131 can include differentportions of the content file 130. In many scenarios, the contentfragments 131 can be less than an entirety of the content file 130. Thecontent fragments 131 can be generated by the content access application114 in response to a user identifying which portions of a content file130 that the user wishes to store on a client device 106. The variouscontent fragments 131 can also be associated with a title, sectionheading, or any other metadata specified by the user. For example, thecontent access application 114 can present a user interface throughwhich the user can tag certain segments of a video or an audio file thatthe user wishes to store on the client device 106. As another example, auser may identify certain portions of a document to be stored on theclient device 106 while leaving the remaining portions of the documenton the data store 121. The remaining portions of the file that are nottagged can be stored in the data store 121 and retrieved by a clientdevice 106 when they are needed for rendering. The content fragments 131can be stored in the same file format as the content file 130 butrepresent smaller portions of the content file 130. In another example,the content fragments 131 can be converted into another file format andstored in the data store 121.

In some examples, rather than a user tagging portions of a content file130 for storage on the client device 106, the content access application114 can automatically identify certain portions of the content file 130that should be stored on the client device 106 of a user. The contentaccess application 114 can make this automatic determination based upona viewing or consumption history of the content file 130 by the user orby other users who may also have access to the content file 130. Asanother example, an administrator or another user may tag a particularcontent file 130 to identify the portions of the file that should bestored on the client device 106 of a user who has access to the contentfile 130.

A content file 130 can also be associated with a manifest file 133. Themanifest file 133 can specify metadata associated with the content file130. The manifest file 133 can also identify content fragments 131 intowhich the content file 130 has been segmented based upon anidentification of which portions of the content file 130 should bestored on the client device 106 and which portions of the content file130 should remain stored on the data store 121. The manifest file 133can also identify the length or size of a content file 130, a number ofsegments into which a content file 130 has been broken into, and otherfile metadata. The manifest file 133 can also specify the location ofthe portions of the content file 130 that are not represented by thecontent fragments 131. The location can include an internet protocol(IP) address or domain name system (DNS) server name along with a pathat which the content file 130 can be accessed by the client device 106.The content access application 114 can package the content fragments 131and the manifest file 133 into a content file package that can beinterpreted by the client device 106, as described in further detailbelow.

The client device 106 is representative of multiple client devices 106that can be coupled to the network 110. The client device 106 caninclude, for example, a processor-based system such as a computersystem. The computer system can be embodied in the form of a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobilephone (e.g., a “smartphone”), a set-top box, a music player, a web pad,a tablet computer system, a game console, an electronic book reader, orany other device with like capability. The client device 106 can includea display as well as one or more input devices, such as a mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, or other input device that facilitates a user input orother types of data input into the client device 106.

The client device 106 can also execute a file management application135, a management component 137, a viewer application 139, and a contentproxy server 141. The client device 106 can also include content storage145 that can store a local copy of certain content files 130 that areassociated with a user's remote storage area. Additionally, according toexamples of this disclosure, the content storage 145 can also includeone or more content file packages 147, which can include a manifest file151 and one or more content fragments 153 that correspond to contentfragments 131 of a content file 130 from the user's remote storage area.Accordingly, a user can store copies of certain content fragments 153rather than an entire copy of a content file 130 on the client device106, which can conserve bandwidth resources as well as storage resourcesof the client device 106.

The file management application 135 can include one or more programsthat access, manage, edit, and/or perform other functions with respectto files. A file can include an image, a video, an audio file, a wordprocessing document, a spreadsheet, or any other type of content. Thefile management application 135 can also restrict access to one or moreof the files depending upon the state of the client device 106 andwhether a user of the device is authorized to access the file.

The file management application 135 can allow a user to browse filesthat are stored on the client device 106 or on the data store 121. Thefile management application 135 can generate user interfaces that allowthe user to launch a viewer application 139 that renders a content file130.

The management component 137 can monitor or manage at least a portion ofthe data, applications, or hardware components of the client device 106.The management component 137 can also identify whether the client device106 is operating in accordance with the one or more compliance rules forone or more device profiles that have been assigned to the client device106. In some scenarios, the management component 137 can operate as aportion of an operating system for the client device 106. In otherscenarios, the management component 137 can function as a devicemanagement agent that operates in the application layer of the clientdevice 106 and monitors at least some of the activity being performed inthe client device 106. In other examples, the management component 137can include an application wrapper that interfaces with a softwarecomponent to facilitate overseeing, monitoring, or managing one or moreresources of the client device 106. Alternatively, the managementcomponent 137 can be a portion of an application that was developed, forexample, using a Software Development Kit (SDK) that facilitatesincluding management functionality within an application that monitorsand/or manages at least a portion of the resources for the client device106.

The management component 137 can be executed by the client device 106automatically upon startup of the client device 106. Additionally, themanagement component 137 can run as a background process in the clientdevice 106. Accordingly, the management component 137 can executewithout user intervention in some embodiments. Additionally, themanagement component 137 can communicate with the management service 112in order to facilitate management of the client device 106. For example,the management component 137 can obtain compliance rules from themanagement service 112, and the management component 137 can determinewhether the client device 106 is operating in accordance with certaincompliance rules. In another example, the management component 137 cantransmit data that indicates the status of settings for the clientdevice 106, and the management service 112 uses this data to determinewhether the client device 106 is operating in accordance with compliancerules. If it is determined that the client device 106 is not incompliance with one or more compliance rules, the management component137 or the management service 112 can cause a remedial action to beperformed. Examples of remedial actions include notifying a user of thedevice or an administrator of the management service 112, causing devicesettings to be changed so that the client device 106 becomes compliantwith the compliance rules, and erasing data from the client device 106.

The viewer application 139 can render a content file 130 that isassociated with a user's remote storage area by generating one or moreuser interfaces that display the contents of the content file 130. Inaddition, the viewer application 139 can also generate user interfacesthat facilitate editing a content file 130. In various examples, theviewer application 139 can generate a request that is transmitted to thecontent proxy server 141, which can serve a content file 130 to theviewer application 139 by retrieving content fragments 153 that arestored locally along with portions of the content file 130 that arestored in the data store 121.

The content proxy server 141 represents a server application or serverprocess that is executed by the client device 106. The content proxyserver 141 can access the content storage 145 of the client device 106.Accordingly, the content proxy server 141 can access content filepackages 147 that correspond to content files 130 associated with auser's remote storage area. The content proxy server 141 can receive arequest to retrieve a particular content file 130 from the viewerapplication 139. For example, as a user browses files that areassociated with the user's remote storage area using the file managementapplication 135, the user may attempt to view or launch a content file130. The file management application 135 can invoke the viewerapplication 139, which can generate a request to access the content file130 that is transmitted to the content proxy server 141. In response toreceiving the request, the content proxy server 141 can determinewhether the requested content file 130 or a content file package 147 isstored in the content storage 145. If neither the content file 130 northe content file package 147 are stored in the content storage 145, thenthe content proxy server 141 can initiate a request to retrieve orstream the content file 130 from the content access application 114. Thecontent access application 114 can authenticate the user's access to thecontent file 130 by determining whether the user associated with theclient device 106 is authorized to access the content file 130. If theuser is authorized, then the content access application 114 can transmitthe content file 130 to the content proxy server 141, which can in turnprovide the content file 130 to the viewer application 139.

In either scenario, the file management application 135, in response toreceiving a request to launch or render a particular content file 130,can launch the viewer application 139 and provide the viewer application139 with a uniform resource locator (URL) that points to the contentproxy server 141 and references the requested content file 130. Thecontent proxy server 141 can serve the requested content file 130 to theviewer application 139 through the URL by streaming locally storedcontent fragments 153. When the viewer application 130 requires otherportions of the content file 130 that are not locally stored, thecontent proxy server 141 can retrieve those portions of the content file130 from the content access application 114 and stream the portions ofthe content file 130 to the viewer application 139 through the URL. Inthis manner, although the locations of the content fragments 153 can beeither locally or remotely stored, the viewer application 139 cancontinue to stream a content file 130 through the local URL hosted bythe content proxy server 141. The content proxy server 141 canseamlessly obtain the content fragments 153 from the appropriatelocation and provide them to the viewer application 139.

In another example, the content proxy server 141 can stream contentfragments 153 through the URL and redirect the viewer application 139 tothe content access application 114 to access portions of the contentfile 130 that are not stored locally. The content access application 114can also redirect the viewer application 139 to the content proxy server141 when the viewer application 139 reaches a portion of the contentfile 130 that is stored locally. In this scenario, the viewerapplication 139 is configured to obtain portions of the content file 130from the content proxy server 141 and the content access application 114depending upon the portion of the content file that the viewerapplication 139 is rendering. In the previous example, the content proxyserver 141 can handle retrieving the content fragments 153 andretrieving the content file 130 from the content proxy server 141 forportions of the content file 130 that are not stored locally on behalfof the viewer application 139.

Additionally, in response to receiving a request to stream or transmitthe content file 130 to the content proxy server 141, the content accessapplication 114 can determine the requested portion of the content file130 and initiate streaming of the content file 130 to the content proxyserver 141. In another example, the content proxy server 141 can providea timecode along with the request to stream a content file 130 in thecase of an audio or video file. The content access application 114 canextract the timecode from the request and initiate a stream of thecontent file 130 from the timecode indicated in the request. In the caseof a document or another type of content file 130 that does not have atime component, the request from the content proxy server 141 canidentify a page number, section number, or any other indicator of whichportion of the content file 130 that is being requested by the contentproxy server 141. In this scenario, the viewer application 139 canidentify a page number, section number or other indication of theportion of the content file 130 that it is rendering or that the user isviewing on the client device 106. For example, as a user pages orscrolls through a document using the viewer application 139, the viewerapplication 139 can request the page or portion of the document that itrequires from the content proxy server 141 in order to render theportion of the document on the client device 106.

In response to receiving a request for a content file 130 from thecontent proxy server 141, the content access application 114 caninitiate streaming of the file from a requested timecode, page number,or other indication of which portion of the content file 130 isrequested. In some examples, the request can include a beginning and anend of the portion of the content file 130 that is requested. In thisscenario, the content access application 114 can initiate a stream ofthe content file 130 to the content proxy server 141 and ceasetransmission of the content file 130 upon reaching the end of theportion of the content file 130 that is requested. In another example,the content access application 114 can provide the entire content file130 to the content proxy server 141 in response to the request for thecontent file 130 from the content proxy server 141.

In the event that a requested content file package 147 is stored in thecontent storage 145, the content proxy server 141 can interpret themanifest file 151 to determine which content fragments 153 are stored inthe content storage 145 and which portions of the content file 130 arenot stored on the client device 106. The content proxy server 141 canstream content fragments 153 corresponding to the content file 130 tothe viewer application 139 from the content storage as well as portionsof the content file 130 that are stored in the computing environment109. In this way, the content proxy server 141 acts as a proxy foraccess to a content file 130 on behalf of the viewer application 139.

If the viewer application 139 is playing a portion of the content file130 for which content fragments 153 are stored locally, the contentproxy server 141 can stream the content fragments 153 from the contentstorage 145. If the viewer application 139 is playing a portion of thecontent file 130 for which no content fragments 153 are stored locally,the content proxy server 141 can obtain those portions of the contentfile 130 from the content access application 114 and transmit them tothe content proxy server 141, which can relay those portions of thecontent file 130 to the viewer application 139. In this way, from thestandpoint of the viewer application 139, the content file 130 isobtained from the content proxy server 141 without regard to whetherportions of the file are stored in content storage 145 or in the datastore 121.

Referring next to FIG. 2, shown is one example of a manifest file 133.The manifest file 133 can be encoded in extensible markup language (XML)or in any other data format in which structured or unstructured data canbe embedded. In the example manifest file 133 shown in FIG. 2, afilename indicator 201 can identify a filename of the content filepackage 147 to which the manifest file 133 corresponds. A networklocation indicator 203 can indicate a network location of the contentfile 130, such as a network address of the computing environment 109executing the content access application 114. A length indicator 205 canindicate a length of a video that corresponds to the content file 130.Finally, content fragment indicators 207 can identify information aboutcontent fragments 153 that are stored in content storage 145 so that thecontent proxy server 141 can retrieve content fragments 153 upon requestfrom the viewer application 139.

Referring next to FIG. 3, shown is a flowchart that provides one exampleof the operation of the content access application 114. As analternative, the flowchart of FIG. 3 can be viewed as depicting anexample of elements of a method implemented in the computing environment109. Functionality attributed to the content access application 114 canbe implemented in a single process or application executed by thecomputing environment 109 or in multiple processes or applications. Theseparation or segmentation of functionality as discussed herein ispresented for illustrative purposes only.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the content access application 114generating a content file package 147 that contains content fragments131 associated with a content file 130. The content fragments 131 can begenerated based upon a user's indication of which portions of a contentfile 130 that the user wishes to store on the client device 106.Beginning with step 301, the content access application 114 can obtaincontent segment tags that specify the portions of a content file 130that the user wishes to store on the client device 106. Content segmenttags can be obtained from a user interface in which a user identifiescertain segments of a content file 130 as segments that are desired tobe stored on the client device 106. The content segment tags can also beobtained by an analysis of a content file 130 based upon a consumptionhistory associated with the content file 130. In one example, portionsof a content file 130 that the user previously viewed or consumed can betagged, while portions of the content file 130 that the user has notpreviously viewed or consumed can be skipped. The consumption history ofa population of users who may also have access to the content file 130can also be considered when generating content segment tags. Contentsegment tags can identify portions of the content file 130 according toa timecode, page number, section number, or any other indication of aportion of the content file 130 that is desired to be stored on theclient device 106.

At step 303, the content access application 114 can generate contentfragments 131 based upon the content segment tags. The content fragments131 can include portions of the content file 130 that are to be includedin a content file package 147 that is transmitted to the client device106. In the case of a video or audio file, the content fragments 131 caninclude smaller video files or audio files that correspond to theportions of the content file 130 that are identified by the contentsegment tags. In the case of a document, the content fragments 131 canbe a file formatted in the original document format as the content file130 with the portions of the content file 130 that are not desired forstorage on the client device 106 removed from the file.

At step 305, the content access application 114 can generate a manifestfile 133 corresponding to the content fragments 131. As described above,the manifest file 133 can identify the content fragments 131 as well asspecify a quantity of content fragments 131 and their location withinthe content file 130. Additionally, the content access application 114can also generate a filename that corresponds to a content file package147 in which the content fragments 131 and manifest file 133 arepackaged. At step 309, the content access application 114 can generate acontent file package 147 that incorporates the manifest file 133 and thecontent fragments 131 that are designated for storage in content storage145 on the client device 106. At step 311, the content accessapplication 114 can transmit the content file package 147 to the clientdevice 106 for storage in content storage 145.

Referring next to FIG. 4, shown is a flowchart that provides one exampleof the operation of the content proxy server 141. As an alternative, theflowchart of FIG. 4 can be viewed as depicting an example of elements ofa method implemented in the client device 106. Functionality attributedto the content proxy server 141 can be implemented in a single processor application executed by the computing environment 109 or in multipleprocesses or applications. The separation or segmentation offunctionality as discussed herein is presented for illustrative purposesonly.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of how the content proxy server 141 canhandle a request for a content file 130 from a viewer application 139executed by the client device 106. In one example, the viewerapplication 139 can be provided with a URL at which the content proxyserver 141 can be reached. The URL can be provided by the filemanagement application 135 in response to a user's request to launch orview a particular content file 130 associated with the user's storagearea. The request can be directed toward a network port associated witha server process associated with the content proxy server 141. A viewerapplication 139 that is provided a content file 130 in other solutionsis merely provided a reference to a file storage location on the clientdevice 106. However, in examples of this disclosure, the viewerapplication 139 is provided with a URL that points to the content proxyserver 141.

Accordingly, at step 401, the content proxy server 141 can extract amanifest file 151 from a content file package 147 that corresponds to arequested content file 130 requested. At step 403, the content proxyserver can identify a portion of the content that is requested by theviewer application 139. For example, a user may view a video file fromthe beginning of the video or seek to another portion of the video. Inresponse to these user inputs, the viewer application 139 can generate arequest for a timecode of the video that it is rendering and transmitthe request to the content proxy server 141 for a particular portion ofthe video.

At step 405, the content proxy server 141 can determine whether therequested portion of the content file 130 is stored in content storage145 as a content fragment 153. The content proxy server 141 can analyzethe manifest file 151 to determine whether a content fragment 153specified by the manifest file 151 corresponds to the requested portionof the content file 130. If the requested portion of the content file130 is not stored on the client device 106, at step 407, the contentproxy server 141 can request the portion of the content file 130 fromthe content access application 114. The content access application 114can stream the content file 130 to the content proxy server 141 from arequested starting point or transmit the entire content file 130. Atstep 413, the content proxy server 141 can transmit the content to theviewer application 139 for rendering.

If, at step 405, the requested portion of the content file 130 is storedin content storage 145 as a content fragment 153, the content proxyserver 141 can then retrieve the content fragment 153 from contentstorage 145 at step 409. In some examples, at step 411, the contentproxy server 141 can also buffer the next portion of the content file130. For example, the content proxy server 141 can retrieve subsequentportions from the content access application 114. In these scenarios,the content proxy server 141 can store these portions of the contentfile 130 in content storage 145 as additional content fragments 153 oras cached portions of the content file 130. As playback continues, theviewer application 139 will seamlessly play the segments, whether storedlocally or remotely.

At step 413, the content proxy server 141 can transmit the requestedcontent to the viewer application 139. At step 415, the content proxyserver 141 can determine whether the viewer application 139 requiresadditional portions of the content file 130. If so, then the processreturns to step 403. In this way, the viewer application 139 can beprovided with a URL that points to the content proxy server 141 throughwhich the content file 130 can be streamed by the viewer application.The content proxy server 141 can handle retrieving content fragments 153that are stored locally and portions of the content file 130 that arestored in the data store 123. The process shown in FIG. 4 can supportstreaming a content file 130 to a viewer application 139 that need notbe configured with logic that takes into account where the content file130 is stored because the viewer application 139 is only provided a URLthat points to the content proxy server 141. If there are no additionalportions of the content file 130 required by the viewer application 139at step 415, then the process can proceed to completion.

The flowcharts of FIGS. 3-4 show examples of the functionality andoperation of implementations of components described herein. Thecomponents described herein can be embodied in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. If embodied in software, eachelement can represent a module of code or a portion of code thatincludes program instructions to implement the specified logicalfunction(s). The program instructions can be embodied in the form of,for example, source code that includes human-readable statements writtenin a programming language or machine code that includes machineinstructions recognizable by a suitable execution system, such as aprocessor in a computer system or other system. If embodied in hardware,each element can represent a circuit or a number of interconnectedcircuits that implement the specified logical function(s).

Although the flowcharts show a specific order of execution, it isunderstood that the order of execution can differ from that which isshown. For example, the order of execution of two or more elements canbe switched relative to the order shown. Also, two or more elementsshown in succession can be executed concurrently or with partialconcurrence. Further, in some examples, one or more of the elementsshown in the flowcharts can be skipped or omitted.

The client device 106, computing environment 109, or other componentsdescribed herein can include at least one processing circuit. Theprocessing circuit can include, for example, one or more processors andone or more storage devices that are coupled to a local interface. Thelocal interface can include a data bus with an accompanyingaddress/control bus or any other suitable bus structure.

The one or more storage devices for a processing circuit can store dataor components that are executable by the one or more processors of theprocessing circuit. For example, the management service 112, contentaccess application 114, content proxy server 141, or other componentscan be stored in one or more storage devices and be executable by one ormore processors. Also, a data store, such as the data store 121 can bestored in the one or more storage devices.

The management service 112, content access application 114, contentproxy server 141, or other components described herein can be embodiedin the form of hardware, as software components that are executable byhardware, or as a combination of software and hardware. If embodied ashardware, the components described herein can be implemented as acircuit or state machine that employs any suitable hardware technology.The hardware technology can include, for example, one or moremicroprocessors, discrete logic circuits having logic gates forimplementing various logic functions upon an application of one or moredata signals, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) havingappropriate logic gates, programmable logic devices (e.g.,field-programmable gate array (FPGAs), and complex programmable logicdevices (CPLDs)).

Also, one or more or more of the components described herein thatinclude software or program instructions can be embodied in anynon-transitory computer-readable medium for use by or in connection withan instruction execution system, such as a processor in a computersystem or other system. The computer-readable medium can contain, store,and/or maintain the software or program instructions for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system.

A computer-readable medium can include a physical media, such as,magnetic, optical, semiconductor, and/or other suitable media. Examplesof a suitable computer-readable media include solid-state drives,magnetic drives, or flash memory. Further, any logic or componentdescribed herein can be implemented and structured in a variety of ways.For example, one or more components described can be implemented asmodules or components of a single application. Further, one or morecomponents described herein can be executed in one computing device orby using multiple computing devices.

The above-described examples of the present disclosure are merelyexamples of implementations to set forth for a clear understanding ofthe principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications canbe made to the above-described examples without departing substantiallyfrom the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modificationsand variations are intended to be included herein within the scope ofthis disclosure.

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium for a client device to render locally andremotely stored content using a content proxy embodying a programexecutable in a computing device, the program, when executed by thecomputing device, being configured to cause the computing device to atleast: extract a manifest file from a content file package correspondingto a content file; identify, based on the manifest file, contentfragments designated for local storage, the content fragments associatedwith segments of the content file, and the content fragments comprisingless than an entirety of the content file; and provide a uniformresource locator (URL) that references the content file through whichthe content file can be served.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the program is further configured to:identify, based on the manifest file, a remainder of content fragmentsdesignated for remote storage; and provide, in response to a requestreceived at the URL, at least one of the content fragments from thelocal storage and at least one of the content fragments from the remotestorage.
 3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2,wherein the content file package comprises a compressed archivecontaining at least one of the content fragments and the manifest file.4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein theprogram is further configured to extract at least one of the contentfragments from the content file package.
 5. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program is furtherconfigured to: identify, based on the manifest file, a remainder ofcontent fragments designated for remote storage; provide, in response toa request received at the URL, at least one of the content fragmentsfrom the local storage; and redirect the request to a server to obtainthe remainder of the content fragments from the server.
 6. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the requestcomprises at least one timecode associated with the content file.
 7. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the programis further configured to: identify, based on the manifest file, aremainder of content fragments designated for remote storage; buffer atleast one of the remainder of the content fragments from the remotestorage; and provide, in response to a request received at the URL, atleast one of the content fragments from the local storage.
 8. A systemfor a client device to render locally and remotely stored content usinga content proxy, comprising: a computing device; and a content proxyexecutable by the computing device, the content proxy configured tocause the computing device to at least: extract a manifest file from acontent file package corresponding to a content file; identify, based onthe manifest file, content fragments designated for local storage, thecontent fragments associated with segments of the content file, and thecontent fragments comprising less than an entirety of the content file;and provide a uniform resource locator (URL) that references the contentfile through which the content file can be served.
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the content proxy is further configured to: identify,based on the manifest file, a remainder of content fragments designatedfor remote storage; and provide, in response to a request received atthe URL, at least one of the content fragments from the local storageand at least one of the content fragments from the remote storage. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the content file package comprises acompressed archive containing at least one of the content fragments andthe manifest file.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the content proxyis further configured to cause the computing device to extract at leastone of the content fragments from the content file package.
 12. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the content proxy is further configured tocause the computing device to: identify, based on the manifest file, aremainder of content fragments designated for remote storage; provide,in response to a request received at the URL, at least one of thecontent fragments from the local storage; and redirect the request to aserver to obtain the remainder of the content fragments from the server.13. The system of claim 12, wherein the request comprises at least onetimecode associated with the content file.
 14. The system of claim 8,wherein the content proxy is further configured to cause the computingdevice to: identify, based on the manifest file, a remainder of thecontent fragments designated for remote storage; buffer at least one ofthe remainder of the content fragments from the remote storage; andprovide, in response to a request received at the URL, at least one ofthe content fragments from the local storage.
 15. A method for a clientdevice to render locally and remotely stored content using a contentproxy, comprising: extracting a manifest file from a content filepackage corresponding to a content file; identifying, based on themanifest file, content fragments designated for local storage, thecontent fragments associated with segments of the content files, thecontent fragments comprising less than an entirety of the content file;and providing a uniform resource locator (URL) that references thecontent file through which the content file can be served.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, further comprising: identifying, based on themanifest file, a remainder of content fragments designated for remotestorage; and providing, in response to a request received at the URL, atleast one of the content fragments from the local storage and at leastone of the content fragments from the remote storage.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the content file package comprises a compressedarchive containing at least one of the content fragments and themanifest file.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:identifying, based on the manifest file, a remainder of contentfragments designated for remote storage; providing, in response to arequest received at the URL, at least one of the content fragments fromthe local storage; and redirecting the request to a server to obtain theremainder of the content fragments from the server.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the request comprises at least one timecode associatedwith the content file.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:identifying, based on the manifest file, a remainder of the contentfragments designated for remote storage; buffering at least one of theremainder of the content fragments from the remote storage; andproviding, in response to a request received at the URL, at least one ofthe content fragments from the local storage.